


I Didn't Mean It

by OfficersTucyChenford



Category: The Rookie (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:20:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23675260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OfficersTucyChenford/pseuds/OfficersTucyChenford
Summary: A slow day at work leads to a training session gone wrong; featuring hurt feelings, giant misunderstandings and a visit to the emergency room.
Relationships: Tim Bradford & Lucy Chen, Tim Bradford/Lucy Chen
Comments: 10
Kudos: 124





	I Didn't Mean It

**Author's Note:**

> Hi y'all,
> 
> I wrote this about a week ago and wanted to finally get it posted for your Chenford needs! I'm hoping to have the second|final chapter up by Friday night. As always, any feedback you'd like to leave would be greatly appreciated. Thankyou and enjoy!
> 
> Always, AB ❥  
> @Officers-Tucy-Chenford

Tim knew the minute his rookie hit the training mat that something was very wrong.

He honestly didn’t know if it was the look in her eyes, the whimper of pain she hadn’t been able to fully hide, or the unnatural angle her leg was resting at, but he knew in that moment that he’d gone too far. It was supposed to be a simple training session, some sparring to pass the time and a chance for him to evaluate her fighting ability. It had quickly evolved into a contest of who would make the other tap out first. They’d been doing an impressive dance of punches and holds, until suddenly his Boot was on the floor and his heart forgot how to beat to its usual rhythm.

He’d gotten distracted, lost in thought over something they’d been bickering about, not even paying attention to what she was currently saying, and he’d flipped her too fast to properly control her landing. Lucy clearly wasn’t expecting the move if the way she hadn’t even struggled was any indication. He’d caught her off-guard, and now he’d hurt her. _Fuck._

“Chen, I’m sorry-”

Reaching down to give her a hand, he hated the flinch that came a moment before she plastered a blank expression on her face. He took a deep breath, trying to get his heart rate under control and his worry under wraps. Tim was thankful when she took his hand the second time he offered it, and held on tight while she hesitantly tried to get her feet under her so he could pull her up. Lucy couldn't swallow her yelp of pain this time when her left foot dragged instead of simply turning as it should. The tears that appeared in her eyes startled him, even while the cussing that followed made him want to grin at her creative use of the English language. Deciding to leave her where she was, Tim got down on one knee and, as gently as he could, pressed a few fingers to her already swollen ankle. The hiss she let out was the only warning he got before Lucy’s hand smacked against the side of his head.

“Damnit! _Don’t touch it!_ What is _wrong_ with you?! Ow. . .” wailed the small injured female formerly known as Officer Chen, the tough young rookie he was tasked with molding into a qualified and competent police officer. "Would you hit a beehive with a baseball bat?! _No, you wouldn't_. . . oooww."

Tim rubbed his head to soothe the sting from her slap and just. . . stared at her. He’d never seen this side of her before. It was almost childlike, except for the impressive vocabulary of swear words, and so outside of his normal interaction with her. This Lucy hadn’t ever made an appearance in his presence in the entire time that he’d known her. She was always a little spitfire, sassy and determined to hold her own against anybody who’d dare doubt her. The only time he’s ever seen Lucy be anything less than mildly fazed by something was the day he’d pulled her from her grave. His concern over having injured her quickly intensified. Was it worse than he’d originally thought? Was something broken and not just sprained? Had he triggered a memory of something she’d suffered with Caleb without realizing it? He knew from reading every report he could get his hands on from that day that she’d fought hard for her life. He’d seen the evidence of the abuse she’d endured first hand. That she could look at him and think of her trauma gutted him. _Fucking double fuck_.

“Lucy.” Calling her Chen when she was like this just seemed wrong somehow. “Look at me.”

Her attention was focused on her hurt ankle and she didn’t even glance his way when he said her name. As he’d been watching her, trying to figure out her sudden shift in personality, she’d been experimentally poking at the area above her ankle and was now unlacing her shoe. Oh no, that couldn’t happen. She’d make it so much worse if she removed the only thing controlling the rate of swelling and keeping her foot in its current position. _Nope, can’t have that_ , he thought.

"Lucy,” he said as he once again leaned over her, placing one hand on her foot and the other around her right wrist, “don’t take that off yet. The swelling will get a lot worse. C’mon, let’s get you some ice. Maybe a doctor if you feel it's necessary.”

He notices that she’d stopped actively crying, which was a blessing to his sanity, but her eyes were still damp when she finally looked at him with an emotion he wasn’t comfortable identifying at the moment. Without a word she nodded, held her arms up and out to him, instinctively knowing he intended to pick her up. He slipped his left arm around her back and his right arm under her knees, ensuring that her injured ankle was on the far side of her body from his. He didn't want to accidentally bump it while he held her. Lifting her wasn’t hard. Between keeping himself in excellent shape for the job and her much smaller size, he didn’t exactly have to worry about being able to carry her. The only real question was where did he take her? Leaving the weight room, he quickly ruled out taking her into either of the locker rooms and headed down the hallway.

Reaching the break room, he walked in and was instantly glad to see Lopez standing at the counter making a pot of what she called coffee. The surprise on her face when she spotted the Lucy-shaped lump in his arms was truly priceless. Lopez slamming her coffee cup down and reaching for her phone with an evil glint in her eye barely registered before the flash of her camera was going off in his face. His initial relief at finding Angela was quickly replaced with annoyance. This wasn’t a joke. Taking several more pictures as he moved around her to place Lucy on the counter, he sent her the coldest glare he could manage.

“Yeah, yeah. Real funny. Remind me to laugh and take pictures of you if you’re ever injured during training. Y’know, to repay you for this,” he growled, pointing at the phone still in her hand. The smirk quickly dropped from her lips as she finally took a moment to look at the quiet young woman who sat sniffling on the counter next to Lopez’s forgotten coffee. The question in her eyes when she looked back at Tim seriously rubbed him the wrong way. “Don’t look at me like that. We were sparring. I lost focus. She landed wrong when I flipped her too fast. Left ankle, hard impact, possibly broken. Why don’t you do something useful and get a first aid kit or something while I grab an ice pack?”

“Tim if you think there’s a break in the bone, she should really be at the hospital getting xrayed.”

“Angela either help me or get out of my way. I know what I’m doing,” he fumed in response.

Looking at Lucy, who still hadn’t said a word and looked miserable, Lopez just shook her head.  
“Clearly you don’t.” And with that parting shot, she walked out the door.

He grabbed an ice pack, a kitchen towel, and dragged a chair over from the small dining table in the room. Sitting down, he silently motioned for her to place her foot in his lap. It only took a few minutes to get her shoe off, her sock rolled down, her ankle wrapped with the towel, and for the two of them to find a position Tim could hold the ice pack to her injury without Lucy crying out like she was being hacked to death. He had lost count of how many people had poked their heads in to investigate the sounds of her distress. It wasn’t until Lopez walked back into the room with Sgt. Grey that he paid any attention to who was coming in and out of the breakroom.

“Chen you alright?” asked the older man, nodding briefly to Tim in greeting.

“Yes, sir,” she muttered, meeting his eyes before she hung her head again. “I’m sorry Lopez bothered you. But, uhm, since you’re here. . . I’d like permission to go home, if that’s alright. I don’t think I’d be much use to you if I stayed.”

“I can’t see why not. Sure. Are you going to be able to get yourself home?”

“Yes, I can just call an Uber-“

“Sir, Bradford indicated that Chen may have a broken bone. I really think she should go get it xrayed before going home,” Lopez interrupted. She took a quick peek at Lucy’s TO before facing the injured rookie. “I’ve got a mountain of paperwork from that robbery this morning, I can have Jackson run you over to Shaw Memorial. You'd be doing me a favor getting him out of my hair for awhile.”

All eyes turned to watch their superior’s reaction, and waited for his decision. Grey took the time to look each of his officers over, as if trying to work out a puzzle in his head. He eventually nodded, declared that Lucy needed to be examined, and was just telling Lopez to notify West of his afternoon assignment when Tim spoke up.

“No, I’ll do it. I’m got giving my Boot to another rookie’s care. _I’ve got her_.”


End file.
